Mohip may leave to Boulder

Another Youngstown City Schools leader may be leaving, just days after two Academic Distress Commission members’ resignations.

CEO Krish Mohip is a finalist for a superintendent position in Boulder Valley School District in Colorado.

Mohip is one of two out-of-state finalists, according to the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper.

“I’m a father of three young children,” Mohip said in a news release. “Last November, after a third episode of vandalism at my home, I decided I wouldn’t be comfortable bringing my family to live with [me] here in Youngstown. That’s when I began considering other employment.”

Mohip was put in place by House Bill 70, commonly referred to as the Youngstown Plan, which was signed into law by Gov. John Kasich in July 2015.

It enabled a state-appointed academic distress commission to hire a CEO to lead the district. The bill gives Mohip complete operational, managerial and instructional control. He refers to the elected school board as an advisory board.

An Ohio Department of Education spokesman said if Mohip decides to leave the district, an ADC – made up of five members – will be charged with choosing a new CEO once again.

Larry Ellis, Youngstown Education Association teachers union president, said he understands sometimes people have to do what’s best for themselves.

“I do feel sorry [Mohip] feels his safety is an issue here in Youngstown,” he added.

ADC member Nick Santucci said although he understands Mohip has to do what’s best for him and his family, the ADC’s mission will remain the same: to move the school district forward academically.

“We are going to move forward without any individual person,” he said. “Our focus, as always, will remain with the students.”

In the news release, Mohip said he hasn’t resigned from his district CEO position. More interviews are scheduled for later this week in Boulder Valley.

“I feel like we’ve made great strides in the Youngstown City School District over the last nearly two years,” Mohip said.

“We’ve seen student growth and put systems in place that have prepared the district to move forward.”

Dario Hunter, a Youngstown school board member, said although Mohip hasn’t decided to leave yet, it’s clear he no longer wants to be here.

“Odds are he never really did; this was likely just a stepping-stone in the advancement of his career,” Hunter said.

He added the students, Mohip’s claimed priority, will not “fare so well after his departure.”

“After his administration’s special-education violations, low test scores, massive spending, surge of dubious new hires, and a district reconfiguration that has confused parents and teachers alike, the district is no less a mess than when he took control from a failed school board,” Hunter said. “The state’s hastily passed experiment with our children has failed.”

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, said moving forward he is going to push for more careful vetting of appointees including ADC members and a CEO, if necessary.

“The community needs to rally together to demand that we have a say-so in the next appointee,” said Schiavoni, a gubernatorial candidate.